CFP Chaos: Miami’s 2 Losses Create A Doomsday Scenario For ACC Missing The College Football Playoff

Is there a situation that could unfold that would leave the ACC out of the college football playoff? 

Right now, Miami is sitting with two losses on the season, and while the Hurricanes might technically be in the field with the latest CFP rankings, that doesn’t mean they are a lock for the playoff.

You might be asking yourself how this could be possible. 

Well, it comes down to the fact that Miami is currently sixth in the ACC standings with a 3-2 conference record. Those losses to Louisville and SMU could really come back to bite them when the regular season concludes, especially if they aren’t participating in the postseason tournament.

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As it stands, the Hurricanes are not going to play for a conference championship, with Louisville already holding the tiebreaker, thanks to their win earlier this month. 

Georgia Tech, Virginia, SMU, Pitt and Duke all have just one ACC loss, which obviously puts them ahead of Miami in the standings. And no, the upcoming game between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh is not a conference game, so it will not affect the Panthers. 

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If Miami were to make the playoff, it would have to come thanks to an at-large bid, which also seems unlikely at this moment. 

And, we can’t forget the College Football Playoff guidelines when it comes to selecting the five conference champions for spots in the postseason. The CFP does not have to select four schools from the power-four conferences to participate in the playoff. 

This means, if a team like Duke were to win the ACC championship, the committee does not have to select them for their final rankings. 

Miami’s 2 Losses Create A Doomsday Scenario For ACC Missing The 2025 College Football Playoff  (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Since a team like James Madison could be ranked higher than a 4-loss Duke team in the final CFP rankings, the committee could select them to represent the Sun Belt conference in the playoff. 

This would leave the conference title winner on the skirts, if the conference champion is ranked below the second Group of Five champion. 

Can you imagine the outrage of ACC officials if this were to happen? I can, and they would have nobody to blame but themselves.